People in the disaster preparedness community often say they are readying for the “shit hits the fan” moments: some future calamity, however plausible or implausible, when we are forced to fall back on our possessions and ingenuity. Doomsday Preppers, the long-running National Geographic show that popularized the term “prepper,” introduced mainstream America to a slew of quirky individuals — mostly men with a love of pricey gadgets and the Second Amendment — and the highly improbable doomsday scenarios for which they’d chosen to prepare.

If there was anything my freeze-dried food experiment taught me, it was how lucky I was to be able to walk down the street and buy a sandwich whenever I wanted to—but also how far I was from being self-reliant in the more quotidian sense. If freeze-dried meals are becoming increasingly popular in America, then maybe it’s because many of us realize that if something really bad happened, we wouldn’t know the first thing about surviving for a week on the ingredients lying around in our pantry. But as we continue to be bombarded by headlines foreshadowing epic floods, economic collapse, and nuclear escalation, there’s nothing wrong with finding a little peace of mind in a bag of dehydrated Chicken A La King.

If you are bugging in over the long-term, you will need a water-collection system of some kind. A rain barrel is the simplest option. Be sure to have at least one or two of these on your property and you can capture rainwater. Even if you live in an apartment with a balcony, you can use a rain barrel to collect water. Just don’t catch it as runoff from the roof as most roofing tiles contain chemicals that can contaminate the water.
That spirit of self-sufficiency runs through the history of American food culture. Lydia Maria Child’s 1829 manual The Frugal Housewife, one of the first American cookbooks ever published, instructed women to contribute to their family’s finances by making sure no scrap of food was wasted: “Nothing should be thrown away so long as it is possible to make any use of it, however trifling that use may be.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints* encourages members to keep a three-month food supply on hand at all times, and even sells dehydrated food products on its official website. This Mormon connection may be why Utah is such a freeze-dried food hub: Of 21 freeze-dried food companies I counted online, 16 were from the state, and Bedford told me she first learned about long-term food storage by reading blogs by Mormon women.
A majority of new cell phones have an Emergency Alert App already installed on them. It’s a national public service to warn us of imminent threats, extreme weather conditions, and Amber alerts. I was able to find this app on my Android cell phone under Settings, Notifications, Apps, Emergency Alerts. You can see how to find this app on an iPhone by watching the News Channel 15 video below.
The Hawaii false alarm was indeed a wake-up call! Thank you for publishing all this useful information. I’ve always done food storage but there is so much more we need to have on hand. All those little things you need, like knives, compass, a RADIO! – someone mentioned thick soled shoes and of course water filtration. I recently found an awesome 72 Hour backpack I thought was a pretty good deal on costco.com (https://www.costco.com/72-Hour-Tactical-Backpack-Survival-Kit.product.100386699.html?pageSize=96&catalogId=10701&dept=All&langId=-1&keyword=72+Hour+Tactical+Backpack+Survival+Kit&storeId=10301).
If you are close to ground zero, the buildings are going down, and I live near mountains so the shock wave would hit twice or more off the mountains. Without shelter, you’ve no protection from secondary fall out, as you’d need to make the shelter air tight. That’s where the plastic comes in. If the building stands, you’d spend that half an hour, shutting off the AC and heat as you don’t want to bring in outside contaminated air. You’d tape off doors, vents etc. You’d need to live in that space, it could be weeks.
While media coverage has often focused on a certain gun-toting, masculine segment of the subculture, both women described being drawn to prepping as a form of female self-empowerment. As Bedford sees it, finding yourself unprepared in the midst of a crisis can be a “terrible feeling of weakness” for a mother. “It makes sense to be empowered and trained and have the right supplies—and in this case, to have extra food on hand—because as a mom in particular, your family just relies on you,” she said.
Here’s an idea that is very useful. I found at the dollar store some space bags. I used one per person and filled it with winter gear, a multi tool, matches/lighter, a small solar light, a bit of emergency food, an emergency blanket, some basic first aid supplies, etc., then removed the air. If you pack it right, you will be able to fold it over and (I used a bungee cord) place over a strap for easy carry. Now you have an instant (and weather proof) instant kit. I also did this with a pillow (small personal one), blanket, sheet, towel, etc. Not only are they portable and protected, they store in less space.

Lokey teaches students agricultural skills and says she came to Wild Abundance because she wants to show her students how to build a basic cold frame: a wooden enclosure with a transparent roof that can be used to keep seedlings warm in winter. That way, no matter what happens, they’ll have the tools they need to grow fresh fruits and vegetables all year round.

“Before the nuclear age, it was thought that only a wrathful deity or natural force (pandemic, planetary collision, etc) would bring about the end of the world,” he says. “But some time in the 1980s, it became clear that there were so many nuclear weapons on the planet that we could literally bring about the end, not only of Homo sapiens but pretty much extinguish most life on Earth through a nuclear exchange,” he says.

In a lot of emergency situations, the grid and/or the internet will be down. It will be difficult to get the information you need in these situations. Your best option is to have hard copies of all the information you might need. You can print out a bunch of information from the internet or you can get a bunch of books, including the SAS Survival Guide.

Communication: Radio is still the best way to get emergency info. Unfortunately we’ve had a lot of bad experiences with the $20 to $70 “emergency radios” commonly available on Amazon. Poor reception, awful durability, bloated with unneeded features, etc. So we’re not going to make a recommendation until we’ve done a full product review, but if you’re looking anyway, Kaito and Eton are the two most common brands.
Many municipal water supplies are disinfected with chloramine now, not chlorine. (That's Texas law, for example.) The difference is that chlorine evaporates, while chloramine does not. It can only be removed by chemical reaction or charcoal filtration. For that reason, I avoid tap water as much as possible. But one nice thing about it in a survival situation is that, based on personal experience at least, it does not go bad.
An approved NIOSH N95, preferably a supply of them, can help you survive contaminated air. Even beyond a pandemic, you can increase the odds of surviving infected air from volcanoes (yes, the US sits on a massive volcano in Yellowstone), earthquakes that release toxins into the air when buildings crash, and other various threats to the air that we breathe.
To ease your mind from the rising tension between nuclear-capable countries and worries of a civil unrest, investing a decent amount of money for this underground survival shelter may serve as one of your best life-saving decisions. At a price of $200,000, you get a Radius Engineering Survival Shelter with fiberglass shells that outlasts steel shells and concrete shells. Apart from the extremely tough walls, Radius also build their bunkers with air purifiers with a UV-radiation sterilization system too.
We also have a Cobb Grill for cooking (charcoal). It's about the same as a new outdoor grill to replace the rusted out one and since it's designed for indoor storage and easy transport (it has a carrier bag), it should long outlast anything we would need to leave outside. SHTF or no, it's a good buy for us. Clearly, it is smaller than a full-size grill, but we don't need that anyhow.
Call ahead to the meat dept.of your store and ask them if they can hold suet or fat for you, what days they ate most likely to have it in inventory, and whether or not it has to be special ordered in the quantity you need. You can also ask for meat trimmings as that is the extra fat that gets cut off the cuts being packaged for the sales floor. There’s often a lot of meat attached to these, and you can get them cheap.
Purchasing survival gear is a necessary part of the prepping process but it should not be done to the exclusion of food, water, and medical supplies. The exception to this rule is water purification and fire-making tools both of which can be acquired for very little cost. For example, consider pool shock for water treatment plus a magnesium fire tool and dryer lint for fire-making.
But wheat is not the only survival basic that may be unfamiliar. Beans of all types, as well rice, are two food storage staples. Learn to cook these items now, so you have an arsenal of recipes ready to go when and if the time comes. Both beans and rice are inexpensive and work well with a variety of condiments making them ideal additions to the survival food pantry.

Not so sure I agree with some of this list. Sure, you need to clean water, shelf-stable foods and alternative ways to cook it, but not so sure I would recommend beginning preppers bother with a rifle or seeds quite yet. I would suggest they worry about items like a comprehensive first aid and hygiene/sanitation concerns first. You need to be able to get through a disaster before you should worry about a long term survival scenario.

Then focus on building up ammunition supplies. After a major collapse ammo will be more valuable than gold, and it’s generally not something you want to run short of. For the shotgun get a range of shells, from bird shot to rifled slug. In rifle and handgun calibers quantity is the most important factor; cheap military surplus beats premium ammo simply because you can buy more of it. The target effect difference between cheap and fancy ammo is incremental, but an extra round is an extra round.
Rising S Bunkers offers the best underground steel shelters, bomb shelters, safe rooms & blast doors on the market. We lead the industry in quality and we have the highest standards for craftsmanship in underground bunkers and other emergency shelters. The Rising S standard of quality is unmatched by any other bunker company on the market today. Additionally, every project is completely customizable. Many customizations are available at no additional cost.
You must have more than a few magazines or shots worth of ammo for any firearm you are going to depend on for a protracted crisis. Additional options for weapons are things like large “riot-cans” of pepper spray, knives, machetes, axes, fists and feet. Medieval or primitive weapons like swords, spears and bows require a great deal of training and practice to use effectively, and while they do not have a dependency on ammunition, your time and effort is likely better spent learning gun and hand-to-hand skills. If you are already proficient with such weapons, more power to you.

We can build up our stockpile all we wan’t but what happens when Martial law takes effect and they want what we have, as a christian I don’t believe we should kill anyone in order to protect our stuff , what is a christian supposed to do if we feel to prep now only to have it taken from us then? Should we hide our preps in places away from our home? Thank you

Great article! It is so helpful to read about the basics again and again. IMHO, the most important guiding point in the article is to prep what you will actually eat. This week my husband cooked DAK ham in a skillet with potatoes and melted cheese. It was just okay. I’m not crazy about the ham and am choosing not to prep it. Proteins have been the most difficult for me. So far, proteins I am SURE I will eat are all kinds of dried and canned beans, shelf-stable tofu (Mori-Nu), and Campbell’s Roadhouse Chili. This chili tastes a lot better than Hormel and tastes great over rice. The Mori-Nu tofu can be heated in a minute in the same pot with a pack or 2 of ramen noodles. I don’t use the seasining pouches b/c of MSG so I add a little soy sauce and dried ginger to the noodle-cooking water. Dehydrated scallions would be good addition but I have not tried dehydrated food yet. Although I do not like canned salmon or regular salmon pouches, I found pouches of grilled salmon and smoked salmon which I’m going to force myself to try this week.
The next things to add are powdered milk, rolled oats and cooking oil. Add some bulk herbs and spices – in an emergency you can use what’s already in the kitchen, but it’s good to have a proper reserve too. Don’t forget the most important seasoning – salt. Get at least five pounds of that. As you move forward you can add pasta, dried vegetables (this is a great excuse to get a dehydrator and vacuum sealer) and of course more rice and beans.
Storing food for an emergency can be challenging but it does not have to be a chore. Eliminate the panic of attempting to get it all done at once and the process can almost be fun and game-like. Searching out deals – either with coupons or at sales – can be an adventure in and of itself. Involve the kids by asking them for suggestions and helping them make selections that they will enjoy eating.
But there are more and more like-minded people out there in communities around the country: engineers, nurses, doctors, dentists, people with different skills and mindsets and ways of contributing. We’re harmonious. We offer each other support and keep ourselves to ourselves. We see prepping as a way to increase our chances of survival if something happens. And we’re all ready to get out of the way when it does.
From the remote road, you first come across a landscape of hundreds of earth-covered domes in perfect rows with their concrete exteriors providing a stark contrast to the lush surroundings. This was Fort Igloo, where for over 24 years the US Army’s Black Hills Ordnance Depot created jobs for thousands of workers and their families. This was a community that many former residents still have fond memories.
The USA is one of the world’s great democracies, but too many Americans don’t seem to respect the process anymore. The media is full of arguments about the Second Amendment, but in many ways growing disrespect for the First Amendment is a lot more worrying. Far-left gangs violently shut down any speaker they don’t approve of. Millions of people flat-out deny President Trump’s right to be president – they don’t see any need to respect the election result if it wasn’t what they wanted. Political agitators constantly whip up tension and hatred between races, between men and women, between red and blue states.

They have a huge selection of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods from top brands such as Saratoga Farms, Mountain House, EasyPrep, OvaEasy, Yoders, Datrex, Mainstay, WonderMill, and more. They also have a complete selection of MRE Military Meals. These include self-heating kits with meals like spaghetti, sweet and sour chicken, and garden vegetables in tomato sauce.

It's reported that US and British â€œadvisersâ€ and â€œinstructorsâ€ to the Syrian opposition forces are trapped in Idlib. There are frantic attempts by the USA and Britain to ask Turkey or Russia to help evacuate these troops. But Britain has refused to co-operate with the Russians. The fall of Idlib would be the end of the last rebel held province and would open up the main highway through Syria from Jordan to Turkey. Syrian Government troops are massing for an attack, Russian ships have gathered off the coast at Tartous and the final phase of the Syrian war looks imminent. There are 200 British and US instructors, doubtless with important weaponry and intelligence, are trapped and the UK wants the Turks to evacuate them to the Incirlik airbase In Turkey. This was apparently refused.

MREs come in boxes of 12 and each MRE is a different meal. You quickly learn which meals you like and which ones you don’t. If you were unfortunate enough to be the last one to the box you got what everyone else passed over. When I was in the service I think the worst meal was the beef patty. There are some similarities between the meals. They all come with an entrée, some side and a dessert. You get crackers and peanut butter or cheese, a condiment packet and usually a drink mix. We would even come up with our own names for meals that displayed our disdain for the contents. One meal, Meatballs with barbecue sauce was affectionately called ‘Meat nuts with Barf A Shoe’ sauce by myself and the guys in my unit. I am sure there are millions of other creative renames. I actually liked that MRE and I think it was pretty much my go-to meal as long as I could beat everyone to the box.

It is hard learning to garden. I just put in my first huge garden a couple of years ago. One thing that I did learn…. is that there are many different ways to garden. There are many books at the library about different types of gardening and of course the internet has a wealth of knowledge. Everyone of course, thinks that their way is the best. Good luck with the garden.
3. Basic bulk ingredients with long shelf lives are a must. Wheat, rice, and beans are versatile, when you add a variety of spices, herbs, and other ingredients and will last for decades. There are food shortages around the world, droughts here in the U.S. that are affecting food production, and it’s likely we’ll experience either shortages, much higher prices, or both in the future.
Prepping isn’t just for the zombie apocalypse. I live in costal New England and you can bet that there will be at least two or three situations where you won’t have power or won’t be able to get to the store for a while. Blizzards, hurricanes, etc. Also personal crises like losing a job or unexpected car repairs can leave you looking at zero food budget. Always good to have emergency rations to live off of until things return to normal.
Although peanut butter can get expensive if stockpiled alongside your other survival foods, it is a tasty source of protein and much-needed fat. If you are forced to do some last minute shopping, make sure you get some peanut butter as well. You’ll be glad to have this quick snack on hand during an emergency. You could survive only on hardtacks and peanut butter if you are required to do so. Peanut butter can last for years past its expiration date if stored properly.

I just downloaded your lists and I find them to be VERY valuable. So much so that I’ll be having my stay at home wife/co-prepper go through all of our supplies this coming week and populate all of the lists. We already had one for our BOB’s but it makes me realize we need good ones for food beyond just going through the pantry every 6 months and replacing. We need additional for security (ammo, firearms), fuel (white gas for coleman, kindling for BioLite, hardwood for indoor stove), water (we only store about 5 cases of bottled but it does need to rotate. We store so little b/c of space constraints in the big city and we have no less than a homemade Berkey, coffee filters by the 1000’s for pre-filtering the REAL crud out, MSR backpackable and of course a handful of lifestraw’s. We have access to a 120,000 gallon swimming pool and can distill that or we have access to what we firmly believe is a spring fed creek below us, that runs 365 days a year, rain or not. Anyway, thanks for the sheets. We will take the premise and expand on it. I plan to combine them all into one giant workbook kept up to date on a USB key and kept protected in my Faraday. I will be able to use them via PC, laptop, Android phone and tablet that way.

This article from The Art Of Surviving Goes over on of the most important aspects of survival, fire. learning how to start a fire without matches or a lighter could make your life a lot easier in a survival situation…if not save it. even in the desert that temperatures can get down to 0 degrees at night. And there are some animals that you should not eat unless you cook them first. And last but not least boiling water.

3. Basic bulk ingredients with long shelf lives are a must. Wheat, rice, and beans are versatile, when you add a variety of spices, herbs, and other ingredients and will last for decades. There are food shortages around the world, droughts here in the U.S. that are affecting food production, and it’s likely we’ll experience either shortages, much higher prices, or both in the future.
We are near an Air Force base with Sandia National Lab that is involved with nuclear defense. If an enemy targets that, we are likely dead from the initial exposure or the loss of shelter. The base is just south and next to the Albuquerque airport. East, 4.5 hours outside Amarillo is another facility. 3 hours North is Los Alamos. Its been nice knowing you.
Water is the source of life, and is an essential part of survival. In general, it is best to allot 1 gallon of water per person per day. This is including cooking, cleaning and drinking. Now, this is just an approximate amount since different locations and temperatures require different amounts of water. It would be a good idea to have enough water for each person in your family to last you at least 3 days. So, depending on your family size, it could be a lot. For a family of 4 people, it would be a minimum of 12 gallons of water for a 3-day supply.

Resources abound. With a modest amount of computer knowledge, you can Google around the internet to find all sorts of emergency food and food storage advice. Be an informed consumer. Learn about the foods that store well and also about pre-packaged meals that only require a bit of hot water to create a good-tasting and satisfying food experience.

One thing younger preppers may want to consider too is babies. Assuming prescription birth control will not be available, it will be important to have other methods on hand to ensure that you can prevent pregnancy (if you want to). Additionally, some people may want to network with local midwives and doulas (or even become one yourself!). This is an invaluable skill to have in an emergency SHTF scenario. Every family is different, but as a currently pregnant woman, it’s something that I’m thinking about right now. 🙂

More countries trying to ditch the US dollar: After Venezuela, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands prudently repatriated a substantial portion (if not all) of their physical gold held at the NY Fed or other western central banks in recent years, this morning Turkey also announced that it has decided to repatriate all its gold stored in the US Federal Reserve and deliver it to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, according to reports in Turkey's Yeni Safak. It won't be the first time Turkey has asked the NY Fed to ship the country's gold back: in recent years, Turkey repatriated 220 tons of gold from abroad, of which 28.7 tons was brought back from the US last year.
My dad was a USN Seabee, who’s unit moved into Nagasaki, after the blast. He thought that most people,would find the post blast world extremely traumatizing and physically demanding. His comment re 1960s Hydrogen bomb which has since been eclipsed a thousandfold at least. The article didn’t address dealing with a Neutron bomb, which is designed to leave infrastructure intact, but intended instead to penetrate such deeply, to create cell damage to living organisms.
H) The candidate that wants war (Hillary) is provably rigging the polls badly, with hacks, unregistered voters, dead voters, and scam buses taking fraudulent voters to multiple polling sites as verified by the Democratic election commissioner of New York that this will be done this year). The war candidate is hell bent on stealing the election, with the full complicity of a scamming media that is lying about everything, including burying the facts surrounding imminent war with Russia.

Per #17: Consider 25 pounds of sugar, even if like me, you don’t use it; it can become like money because so many have a sweet tooth for it. Next: at least the same amount of salt. (I buy sea salt for the iodine within and it’s a mineral all animals need in their diets so it too, can be used like $$. Third: black peppercorns, in past history this was used as money everywhere along the spice routes. Why? Because they have a very very long shelf life without losing potency. Then buy a pepper grinder, coffee/spice grinder and/or a mortar and pestle.

And while most of them will tell you they got into survivalism out of an interest in self-reliance, that spirit by no means excludes a sense of cooperation. It’s there in the endless churn of blog posts, advice columns, Pinterest boards, Facebook groups, online classes, and digital marketplaces these women use to connect and swap information every day. And it’s here at Wild Abundance, in the open-air living room, where a woman with short hair and tattoos balances two tall boards of wood on the ground as another starts screwing in the shelves that will connect them into a bookcase.
We are near an Air Force base with Sandia National Lab that is involved with nuclear defense. If an enemy targets that, we are likely dead from the initial exposure or the loss of shelter. The base is just south and next to the Albuquerque airport. East, 4.5 hours outside Amarillo is another facility. 3 hours North is Los Alamos. Its been nice knowing you.
Jesus’ final words make it clear that circumstances are changing. Opposition to the disciples is rising. Where before Jesus had sent them out empty-handed yet they were provided for (9:1-6; 10:3-4), now they will have to take provisions and protection for their travel. They will have to procure a sword. Scripture such as Isaiah 53:12 is finding its fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus is rejected; he is numbered with the transgressors.

4. Weather Radios ($35 – $80, alerts are free) or Weather Warning Apps (free) – Weather radios have channels to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA provide coverage to government-designated weather channels 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Weather radios can be programmed to beep loudly when extreme weather is expected. They can report on multiple counties or just one county. There are also multiple options for the sound alert. Internet and cell service might be interrupted during extreme weather so a battery operated weather radio is a great option. Click here to learn more about how to get weather warnings from a radio.

I find the uproar about Google's privacy policy rather amusing. Do you really have an expectation of privacy on a medium of communication developed by governments in the first place? Seriously? And that it was "given to the public" out of altruism on the part of governmental/military systems that created it? Google and the NSA have been in strategic partnership since the beginning of 2010 (perhaps even before, but that's when the NSA ... as in National Security Administration ... set up an office in Google HQ). You have no privacy on the internet, and probably never have. It's just that you are probably not doing anything generally harmful or attention-grabbing for the government (or anyone else) to really care.
When somebody speaks of a ‘credit collapse’ , I don’t think anyone can possibly speculate or define what that possibly might be, or how much, or where, or really anything specific enough to be meaningful. The problem with this type of hysteria and hand-waving, is that without specific definitions, or possible implications, it leaves any listener up in the air, grasping at ghosts, and no real solution. So all it does is provoke anxiety, as you can’t possibly prepare for any potential threat or ‘enemy’ that you don’t know anything more about than someone’s vague notion. Further, Its impossible to prepare for every single scenario, that anyone can imagine, let alone even be possible for worst case, as no one has a clue what worst case is, or will be. If any reasonable business leader such as a CEO attempted to prepare for such vague notions as mentioned here, the CEO would be ruled insane, and the board would summarily fire him. Instead of doing this scene here, listening to what will almost assuredly turn out to be in hindsight, false prophets, and making your day a nightmare, why not live each day as if its your last, live in the moment, enjoy it and your time with your family, or work colleagues, and make the best of THAT MOMENT ? I’d be shocked if at least 75% of the listeners here, weren’t either seeing a shrink or taking anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications of some sort. Its not a knock, but seriously people, try taking a ‘chill pill’ (placebo and call it that) like a Vitamin C, or have yourself a glass of wine, at the end of the day.
Greer has a palpable certainty that some kind of shit is going to hit some kind of fan and he believes his prepping is a commonsense reaction to that. He believes the threats could come from AI (artificial intelligence), economic collapse, an atomic bomb or even an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) – and the resulting chaos will see him hit the road to get out of the city.
Buy the best flashlight models you can afford, and focus on a blend of output and runtime. Variable mode and output lights are more complicated to use, but their power-saving features and different color LED’s may be worthwhile. Lights are useful for signaling anytime there is low or no light, and powerful ones can be easily seen for miles, so don’t skimp on output.
Jesus’ final words make it clear that circumstances are changing. Opposition to the disciples is rising. Where before Jesus had sent them out empty-handed yet they were provided for (9:1-6; 10:3-4), now they will have to take provisions and protection for their travel. They will have to procure a sword. Scripture such as Isaiah 53:12 is finding its fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus is rejected; he is numbered with the transgressors.
You should have two weeks’ worth of non-perishable, easy-to-prepare survival food in your home — no good prep is complete without it. If you want to skip the DIY labor and just buy something off the shelf, we spent 180+ hours reviewing over $2,000 worth of the most popular products. After testing 11 options from 7 companies, the best choice for most people is the new Emergency Essentials Premier bucket. Three of which cover two people for more than two weeks for $379.
1. Something else to consider is a smart phone. My phone has a 32gig memory chip. It can holds LOTS of info. Some paperback books will be good to have. But even off the grid a phone can still access certain apps that have been downloade. I have about 50 books on my phone. A compass. Maps. I can draw a quick map or list with my stylis too. I can easily share documents and file by just tapping my phone on another smart phone. Take pictures and zoom in on them. Great to check progress walking and general references.… Read more »
Medical is another critical group of items that should be well-stocked for the average and serious prepper alike. The most important thing about this is the individual needs of yourself and your family. Special antibiotics, diabetic medicine, hearts meds etc.. will vary from family to family. Aside from the basics be sure to understand your family’s special needs as well.
But this is a situation where we can achieve a lot through a simple ranking system. If we prepare for the far most likely disaster to strike us (for me it’s a tornado or extended power outage during winter time since I live in Alabama in the infamous “Dixie Alley”), we will find a pleasing truth…we will generally be prepared for many of the other types of disasters on our list by default, already.
The next thing that you should be aware of is how to use the food that you have prepped and stored. Get familiar with stored-food preparation and the best way to do this is to use it. Get a couple of food-storage cookbooks, or create your own with a little online research. This way you and your family can become familiar with how to use and eat these types of foods.
I think the point of the quicky foods like the ravioli is actually good thinking. You may not have access to water right away, or run out. The other foods require water to cook. I have thought about that issue myself. what if you don’t want the whole neighborhood coming to your house when they smell the food. Precooked canned food can be eaten cold. No smells in the air to give you away. Think about that one. Please.